


Write Your Name Across My Heart

by Crematosis



Series: Loki Bingo [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Insecure Loki (Marvel), Loki Bingo, M/M, Tattoo Artist Loki, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark is not Iron Man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28604559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crematosis/pseuds/Crematosis
Summary: Loki and Tony have very busy lives and don't get to see each other in person very often. Loki fears a long-distance relationship might not last, but Tony has a surprise in store.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Loki Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940482
Comments: 3
Kudos: 101
Collections: Loki Bingo 2020-2021





	Write Your Name Across My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> For the "Is that a tattoo?" square for Loki Bingo

Loki really hated being a famous tattoo artist sometimes.

Of course he was happy to have his work recognized. And he liked the freedom of being able to turn down difficult clients without worrying about his finances.

But he was also so terribly busy all the time now. Talk shows wanted to interview him, tattoo conventions wanted him as a special guest, and reality shows wanted him to host or be a mentor on their shows. He had a publicist and an agent that were constantly fussing at him to do one thing or another to keep up his “image”.

Having to maintain an image was frankly more of a nuisance than it was worth. He had never wanted fame. All he had ever wanted was to be a better tattoo artist than his brother, Thor.

But it had all changed when he tattooed Tony Stark, world-famous inventor and tech genius. Suddenly everyone decided that they wanted to have the exact same tattoo Tony had and they wanted the same person who tattooed Tony to tattoo them. All the attention had frankly been more annoying than welcome.

But he would never regret meeting Tony. They had become fast friends and a year after giving him his first tattoo, they had started dating.

However, since they were both famous, they were both constantly swamped with industry events, press conferences, new product launches, and televised appearances. As of now, it had been four weeks since he had seen Tony in person. And Skype calls just weren’t a substitute for the personal touch.

But Tony had finally returned to Los Angeles for the first time in a month and he promised to head over straight from the airport.

Loki frittered around the living room in preparation for his boyfriend’s arrival, tidying up anything out of place. Not that there was much that needed tidying. Loki liked a minimalist look to his home. He had very nice furniture so he really didn’t need a lot of other decor cluttering up the space.

Still, when the doorbell rang, Loki felt like he hadn’t cleaned enough. They had been apart for so long and he wanted everything perfect to prove that their relationship was worth all the sacrifices.

He took a deep breath, reminded himself that Tony cared about him, not his house and opened the door.

“Hey, babe,” Tony said with a tired smile.

Tony looked as handsome and professional as ever in his grey business suit and red tie. But even though he looked perfectly pulled together, Loki could see the lines of stress on his face and the weariness in his eyes.

“Come in, come in,” Loki said, ushering him into the living room. “Relax. Have a seat. You must be exhausted after your flight.”

Tony all but collapsed onto the sofa. “Oh god, you have no idea how happy I am to have something comfortable to sit on. I’ve been sitting on airplane seats and those stiff fucking boardroom chairs the whole time. I swear they make those seats as awful as possible so they can feel superior during negotiations.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Your posterior doesn’t deserve such terrible treatment.” He poured a glass of scotch and offered it to Tony.

Tony plucked it from his hand with a grateful smile. “Ah, good alcohol. Finally. I was so tired of the cheap crap.”

Loki’s eyebrows went up. “I was under the impression business dealings usually wining and dining and other pleasantries.”

“Usually, yes. But Obie was being a grade A douchebag to some of our contacts and the niceties got a little strained.”

“I wasn’t aware your trip was going that badly.”

Tony waved a hand dismissively. “I didn’t want to spend all our call time bitching about work. That’s boring stuff.”

“Darling, your work isn’t boring. And if I had known how much you were suffering on this trip, I would have prepared something special for your arrival.”

Loki considered his pantry. He had anticipated a little drinking and debauchery. But he probably ought to see if he could make one of Tony’s favorite dishes with what he had in stock. Because if his hosts had given him subpar alcohol and uncomfortable seats to spite him, they probably hadn’t fed him anything good either.

“You don’t need to do anything special for me,” Tony insisted. “This is just fine. A nice quiet night in will do me good. Just put on a movie and make some popcorn and we can snuggle on the couch.”

“Alright,” Loki allowed. “But let’s get you a little more comfortable.” He helped Tony out of his suit jacket and laid it over the back of the couch.

“You don’t need to undress me,” Tony said. “I’m perfectly capable of getting naked on my own.”

It was just a token protest and they both knew it. Tony looked absolutely exhausted and Loki really doubted he could bring himself to get up from the couch for the rest of the night.

“Nobody said anything about nudity,” Loki said. He undid the cuffs of Tony’s shirt and rolled the sleeves up. “Get your mind out of the gutter.” 

“Can you blame me?” Tony said. “You’re literally kneeling at my feet right now.”

“I’m removing your tragic taste in footwear.” They were nice shoes, to be sure. Probably very expensive. But they didn’t look the last bit comfortable.

Tony tensed as Loki started tugging off his left sock.

Loki paused. “Darling, are you injured?”

“It’s nothing,” Tony said quickly. “Just snagged myself on a piece of metal sticking out at baggage claims.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t mention this sooner. Well, of course I can. You don’t take very good care of yourself at times. But no matter. I’ll patch you up.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Tony said. “Just a little cut. It’ll heal on its own.”

“Nonsense,” Loki said. He sat on the couch and pulled Tony’s foot into his lap. “Airports are not known for being hygienic. You’ll definitely want to get a tetanus shot later to take care of the infection.” He rolled Tony’s sock down, revealing reddened skin around a black swirl of ink.

Loki’s eyes narrowed. “Is that a tattoo?” 

He tried to tamp down on the sudden flare of jealousy. He had no right to be upset about this. Tony didn’t have to consult him every time he wanted a new tattoo and he was free to go to other artists if he wanted. They didn’t have an exclusive arrangement just because they were dating. But it was hard to feel anything but jealous and possessive. He hadn’t seen his boyfriend for a whole month and some other tattoo artist was out there touching him when Loki couldn’t.

“No,” Tony said. He hastily tugged his sock back up.

“I know what fresh ink looks like. Why would you lie to me?”

Tony huffed. “Because I didn’t want you to know about it.”

Loki crossed his arms over his chest. “And what was the great plan for making sure I never found out? I see you naked all the time.”

“I don’t know. I was going to figure that out later. Can we drop it?”

“Why? I want to see it.”

“No, you really don’t.”

“Yes, I do. The more secretive you are about it, the more curious I get. Let me see it.”

Tony heaved a sigh and reluctantly pulled his sock off. 

Above his ankle, Tony had the tattoo of an appointment card. Specifically, Loki’s appointment card. And the date written on the card was November 22nd, 2015, the day of Tony’s first tattoo at Loki’s shop. It even looked like Loki’s handwriting on the appointment card.

Loki traced the loops of the letters with one finger. “Darling, why were you hiding this from me?”

Tony huffed. “I didn’t want you to judge me.”

“Why would I judge you? It’s a terribly romantic gesture.”

“You’re always sighing about people getting these beautiful tattoos with deep emotional significance and then hiding them away on some body part that neither they nor anyone else will ever see.”

“There might have been a raised eyebrow or two,” Loki conceded. “And I might have asked why you didn’t want it somewhere more prominent.” His hands splayed across Tony’s chest.

“The spot’s yours, if you want it. Any spot you want.”

Loki smirked. “Oh really? I’d put my name across your chest in big green and gold letters. The O would be right over your heart, a big glass dome with the gleam of the Northern lights trapped under it. The second you take off your shirt, everyone will know who you belong to.”

“Sounds good,” Tony said.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “You really mean to let me do this.”

“I said you could, didn’t I? Look, I really got to missing you on my trip. I missed your sarcasm, your laugh, that wicked gleam in your eyes. I missed tracing over all your tattoos when we cuddle. I missed you so goddamn much I had to get a tattoo of that card of yours because I was afraid it would end up falling apart because I kept taking it out of my wallet to hold it. And that shit’s kind of embarrassing so I wanted it small and hidden. But I’ll wear your name on me big and bold, no shame. As long as you do the tat.”

Loki stroked a thumb reverently over Tony’s tattoo. “You shouldn’t be ashamed of your emotions. I’ve been missing you terribly as well. I will definitely feel much better once I’ve marked you as mine. But this will do for now. The work is fairly well done. Who did you go to? Tell me you didn’t go to my idiot brother for recommendations.”

Tony snorted. “You really think he’d be able to keep something like this a secret?”

Loki chuckled. “No, I suppose not. And as long as he had nothing to do with it, I suppose it doesn’t actually matter.”

Part of him still wished he had done all of Tony’s ink, but then he would have never had such a lovely surprise. And he couldn’t be upset about that.


End file.
